First Set of “Brooklyn Made,” Products Announced

The Brooklyn brand – with its influence reaching as far as continental Europe and beyond – is growing ever strong.

On Tuesday morning, the Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce announced its first round of “Brooklyn Made,” products – a range of items awarded varying degrees of certification – Gold, Silver, and Bronze – based on the percentage of production, the amount of product development, and the amount of product assembly that took place in the borough, as determined by an independent advisory panel of manufacturers.

“Brooklyn has become the hot word all across the world: China, Amsterdam, Italy, New Jersey, Queens. You name it everyone is interested in Brooklyn and using the name,” said Carlo Scissura, the President and CEO of the Chamber. “The Brooklyn Made Certification is meant to celebrate the companies that are actually in Brooklyn, building, manufacturing, creating jobs and paying taxes. These are the companies that are really “Brooklyn,” and we want to tell the whole world about it.”

Of the 41 products that received “Brooklyn Made,” certifications, 25 received gold certifications.

As would be expected, North Brooklyn made a strong showing as well.

Five local businesses received gold certifications and three received silver.

“Its great that someone is interested in small businesses and recognizing the efforts we put into ensuring that our production remains local,” said Michael Zieba, one of the owners of specialty kitchen knives maker Hussar Metals, which received gold “Brooklyn Made” certification. “This will help generate awareness about our business and down the road it might even increase our business and allow our products to be featured in more places.”

Zieba, whose business is based on Commercial Street and who has lived in Greenpoint almost his entire life, said it was critical to recognize the efforts of keeping jobs local.

The primary criterion for businesses to apply for certification is to be headquartered in Brooklyn. Business can then fill out an online application to be considered for certification. In addition manufacturers in the fields of food and beverage, design and technology, and innovation will be awarded as the best of “Brooklyn Made,” designers and products at the Chamber’s annual meeting and trade show, the deadline for which is September 15.

“When consumers buy Brooklyn, they know they’re getting more than high-quality goods and services,” said Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams. “The appeal of the Brooklyn brand is a value-added bonus, recognizable to savvy shoppers from Manhattan to Malaysia, The Made in Brooklyn certification program is a smart way to celebrate this elite status, for businesses to capitalize further on their Brooklyn bona fides and for our borough to generate further economic development.”